Torn
by Krilaia
Summary: On HOLD!Mia doesn't trust anyone but her two year old son, and with good reason with what happened to her almost three years ago. They changed her, but into what? When Sam sees her, that's exactly what he'd like to figure out. SamuelxOC
1. Chapter 1

Krilaia: I own nothing but my own characters and the plot. Everything else belongs to the amazing Patricia Briggs.

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-Three Years Prior-

"What do you think they do?" Mia asked in a quite voice as she laid on her designated gurney. Her long, black hair was tied back in a pony tale as her sharp green eyes stared at her current roommate.

"Who knows?" Brown eyes flickered to her lazily as the gruff male voice spoke. He turned his gaze to the ceiling, ruffling his own brown hair as he did so.

"It's good, though, right?" Mia asked, hopefully. "I mean they wouldn't do it unless it was….right Frazier?"

"I… I'm not sure Mia." Frazier answered, "I mean they whole situation is weird, Mia. I never felt sick, not once. And than they came and told the people who ran the orphanage that we were, and right before we would be kicked out of the system? I don't know Mia. All I know is that we're all a bunch of nobodies who got sick, all at the same time, and whoever they treat doesn't come back."

Mia stayed quite for a second, mulling over his words. It was true. She and Frazier had been at the same orphanage since she was five. Her parents had died in a car crash, and Frazier had been there since his mother had given him up when he was three. It was a month before he was going to be kicked out because of his eighteen's birthday when they had come, the doctors. They had stated that some of the children were sick, and that they needed to be taken in order to be cured. All who had been taken would be kicked out of the system by the end of the year. It hadn't been just their orphanage, either. The two friends had found other orphanages had been targeted, gathering a total of twelve of teens.

"Maybe they're just curing them. That must be why they aren't coming back." Mia stated, determined not to let her hope get away from her.

"I hope, for your sake, your right." Frazier answered, "I really do."

A knock was heard at the door as a nurse stood, clipboard in hand. Her scrubs were a plain white.

"Mr. McCree?" She asked in a tight voice and Frazier rose a hand and eyebrow, thinking about how he was the obvious answer. "Right, come with me, please. It's time for your treatment."

Frazier stood, dusting off the plain grey sweat pant and t-shirt combo they were all forced to wear, before following the nurse out.

"Yeah, me too." Mia whispered, watching him go.

* * *

"Ms. Cox?" It was the same nurse that had taken Frazier away.

Mia hesitantly stood up, being the only one left in the room. She wasn't this nervous when she had come the first time, but that had been three weeks ago and Mia hadn't seen Frazier since. The nurse nodded, and turned briskly down the hallway, Mia followed.

It was narrow, and seemed all too much as though it were about to collapse in on her. Never before had she felt claustrophobic like she did now, she sped her pace to walk directly behind the nurse.

"Um… Ma'm? My friend… my roommate… do you know how he's doing?" Mia asked hopefully. The nurse clicked her tongue.

"I can't discuss other patients with anyone but family." She answered coldly as they stopped at a metal door on the right. Typing in a code on the pad beside the door it let off a soft noise before swinging slightly ajar. She shooed Mia into the room before shutting the seventeen year old in and walking off.

Mia stared around the room, noticing how confined it was. There were no other doors in the room and no windows. Despite that, it was extremely lighted, with light bulbs almost completely covering the ceiling. There was a single bed in the middle of the room, with wrist restraints on the edges. A chill ran down her spine.

"Ah, Mia Cox, correct?" A voice to her left startled her; she turned her head abruptly to stare at the doctor who had just come in. His blond hair was cut extremely short and he had on a typical white uniform. Next to him was a dark haired male assistant, and Mia wondered how she had missed them before.

"I am Doctor Mahogany, and this is my nurse for the day, Mr. Noxx. If you would please, take a seat so we may begin." Dr. Mahogany stated, motioning to the bed. Reluctantly Mia went and laid down. Noxx went around her, tying her wrist down.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, why do I need to be restrained?" She asked, her bottom lip quaking a little.

"Ah! I don't mind at all. You see, dear, not everyone responds to the medicine in the same way. Some have a very violent response. It's a safety precaution, of course." Dr. Mahogany stated, pulling two needles and an alcohol swab from his coat. Wiping down her wrist inner elbow he first drew blood, receiving a wince from the girl. Once he had drawn enough blood he took the other and injected a yellow colored liquid into the same spot.

As soon as the liquid hit her blood stream Mia felt an agonizing burn spread through her, and it only worsened as her blood pumped throughout her body. Breathing quickly she tried to recoil her arms to feel the binds dig in. It didn't matter, she just felt the need to get rid of the burn right now. Screams escaped her mouth as the pain worsened and she struggled.

"Watch her." Dr. Mahogany stated, typing a code to open the door again. Noxx nodded, a glint in his grey eyes as he looked down at Mia. As the doctor left the room and the door shut he smiled to himself.

"Not a problem. I love watching the ones that scream." He glanced at Mia and trailed a finger across the area on her stomach that had been exposed due to her constant struggles. "How about a little louder for me, sugar?"

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Krilaia: Just a prologue. Reviews are lovely.


	2. Jayden

Krilaia: I am so sorry this took so long. I want to thank everyone who took the time to read the first chapter and to alert it and special thanks to both HurogWalker and buffy1890 for reviewing. Again, I am so sorry this took so long.

Disclaimer: If you recognize them then they belong to Patricia Briggs

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Mia shivered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. A lot of things had change since that day three years ago, but even though so much time had passed memories of that day plagued her thoughts. Trying to fight the chill that spread through her body twenty-one year old rubbed her hands up and down her arms as she sat back on the worn down couch in the tiny living room she was in. A door creaked open and the small pitter patter of feet filled the silence. Mia leaned down and picked up the little boy who had run to her out of habit.

"Ouwh okay Mawme?" The boy's grey eyes stared at her curiously and Mia couldn't help but smile. Although she was biased, she had always thought he was the cutest boy in the world. With his slightly curled black hair, expression filled eyes, and heart melting smile that revealed a dimple in his left cheek, she just knew her little boy would grow up to be a heart throb.

Some good things had come from that day, reminding her that even in the darkest hour, dawn was sure to come.

"I'm fine sweetie." Mia answered, ruffling his short brown hair and setting him down beside her before standing up. "How do muffins sound for breakfast Jayden?"

Jayden's face broke into a giant grin as the two year old nodded enthusiastically.

"And then the park?" Mia suggested, picking up her son as he stretched his arms up towards her. Settling him on her hip he nodded once more.

"You sure? I dunno, it seems a little lame to me." She teased him, walking the entire three steps into the dining kitchen area. Jayden shook his head and stared up at her with worried little eyes.

"No! Not lame! Pawk, pawk!" He flailed his pale arms around to empathize his feelings. It was a tradition for them to go to the park every Saturday, something that had started when Mia had felt bad for him not being able to socialize with other little kids, or anyone other than herself. It wasn't something she'd wanted, it was just something she couldn't afford.

Being eighteen and pregnant was a struggle. Being eighteen, pregnant, an orphan, homeless, and traumatized was even worse. She'd done a lot of things she would never be proud of, and would forever haunt her.

Luck had shined on her later in life, however; when she was moved on to the tri-cities at twenty, and had met a woman named Rosa. At thirty with two twin teenagers, one five year old, and a three year old she'd taken one look at Mia, from the run in her hose, the lack of meat on her bones, and the unnatural pale to her skin and had welcomed the girl under her wing as one of her own. Rosa didn't have much herself, but she and her husband helped out when they could, including watching Jayden on any day Mia didn't have off, which included everyday but Saturday and Sunday. It was a blessing for her to know that she didn't have to worry about what was going to happen to Jayden while she wasn't there, and it helped her get a more respectable job. To Mia, Rosa and her family were angels.

"Okay okay! We'll go to the park." Mia laughed, going over to the cupboard and pulling out a package of muffin mix.

* * *

When they got to the park, there was no containing Jayden. He wiggled against Mia's hand until she finally let go and he ran under the slide where a couple other little kids where. For such a little tyke, he was an adventurous one. Mia went over to a nearby bench that was empty. While her son may have been social, Mia was not.

It wasn't the way she'd always been, but she just wasn't comfortable around people. Not since she'd noticed the strange things that had changed since she was "cured" of the invisible sickness. Things that she didn't feel were normal. Things like being able to tell people apart by different scents, when they didn't have perfume or any cologne on. Her sense of sight and hearing had also increased, having always been good they excelled part the normal. Then there were the basic instincts, like the sudden violent tendency she had when she was either angered or threatened.

But never to Jayden.

She would never hurt him. When it came down to it, she would only have him.

"Excuse me, Ma'm?" Mia's head snapped to the new voice. She looked at the man who had spoken and frowned slightly.

"Um, Yes?" Mia asked uncertainly, unsure how to approach this. Taking a deep breath she crinkled her nose at the overdose of cologne that overrode her sense.

"Could I bother you for a survey? Just a couple of questions." As Mia opened her mouth to protest he cut her to the beat, "Please ma'm, it could save my job."

Apprehensively, she accepted.

* * *

Samuel stuffed his hands into his pocket, letting a sigh rip through him. It wasn't like him to be in a funk like he was today, but with Mercy out with Adam he felt a strange sense of loss had come over it. While his human half had accepted she wasn't his and had never really been, there was still a part of his wolf that still claimed her as his own. But he tried not to let it keep him down, and so he would plant his grin on and forget the trouble his wolf brought down on him. It worked, most of the time. Yet, there were days like today when it just caught up with him.

Having been caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice where he was going, or when someone ran towards him. When the small body ran into him he mentally cursed himself for not being so observant, until he looked down. Grey eyes met grey eyes, admittedly Sam's were lighter than the boys. In a jerky movement the boy jumped back and stared at him. Holding back a smile, Sam knelt down to be more level with him.

"Hi, I'm Sam. What's your name?" Sam asked. The boy looked a little unsure of if he should talk to him or not, but after a minute a dimpled smile appeared on his face.

"Jay-den." Jayden said, pronouncing his name in two parts.

"That's a really cool name. Do you know where your mom or da is?" Sam asked, frowning as he spoke the words. It was times like this, as he looked down at the child who couldn't be much older than three, that really made him mad at those people who had kids and didn't take care of them.

Just as Jayden opened his mouth to speak a voice broke in.

"Jayden Frazier! What have I told you about running off?"

Sam looked at the woman who came towards them. He didn't need to be able to smell the panic rolling in waves off of her to know how scared she'd been. It showed on every aspect of her smooth face. He took a moment to just take her in, from her mid-back length black hair that seemed to curl at the ends, in the exact same way the boy's did. She was beautiful, at least in his mind. His eyes trailed down her body, noticing her subtle womanly curves and thin body of her frame that made her seem fragile, but her movements warned off predators.

Mia picked Jayden up, breathing in a sigh of relief. She'd had these enhanced senses for three years and had yet to learn to use them right. The man's scent had overpowered her, and she'd not noticed Jayden run off. If anything had happened, it wasn't a thought she wanted to dwell on.

Turning her attention to the man who had been talking to her son, she frowned as she met his eyes. She tensed, as an alarm in her went off. He was watching her like a prey, and although he looked like he could be trusted, there was something hidden in him that spelt out predator. His size didn't help matters either. A bit over 6 feet and she could tell until that shirt he was built. Yet, her mind settled on that fact that he was handsome. It wasn't something you noticed upon first glance but it was unmistakably there.

Still, beyond that earth-spice musky scent was something that just wasn't human.

"You should probably keep an eye on him; little kids tend to run off." Sam said, not looking away from her eyes. It was strange, most humans avoided his eyes. Yet, she stared, unafraid.

"I know." Mia replied, holding Jayden closely to her.

"I'm Samuel Cornick, by the way. You've got a cute son, if he is…" Sam played on the fact that she looked young as he held out his hand. The two scents were similar enough for him to know their relation. He idly wondered how old she was.

"Mia….McCree." Mia answered tensely as she shook his hand, and he could smell the lie off of her. Sam mentally frowned, wondering why she would lie about that. Pulling back her hand she shifted her weight slightly, "It was nice meeting you, but I really need to go."

"Same here." He glanced at Jayden. "And it was nice meeting you. Maybe you shouldn't run away from your Mom anymore okay?"

Jayden nodded smiling widely and waving at Sam as Mia took her leave. It was at that moment he realized that something about her scent was slightly off. It was caught somewhere between wolf and human. Once she was out of eyesight Sam pulled out his phone.

"Hey Da? I have a question for you…"

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Krilaia: Reviews are really nice.


	3. Winter Wolf

Krilaia: Not to make excuses, but school(senior year with two out of four ap classes)+ play+ work+me= two month wait? Now the play is over, and Im on break for about another week so I can hopefully get a new chapter out. I'll even throw in a (late*cough*) holiday bonus of either a Christmas with Mia and Jayden, Mia and Frazier, or Reenie and Embry. Poll will be up on my page. Sorry for the wait, and I will try not to let it happen again. The play is over with so those everyday long practices are gone, and the rush for the end of first semester is gone, too. So hopefully we will be back in business. I made this longer to make up for it.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed faved and even just read.

Sorry, again, that this took so long.

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The wind wisped around Mia, whispering howls of warnings. Some unknown force compelled her to move forward and so she did, but uncertainly. Each step ahead of her was timid, almost soft enough to cause the gravel beneath her to be still. The hairs on her arms stood at attention, and the lack of light did not help. She could barely see where she was walking, and yet she knew it was in the right direction. To what, she did not know.

"Mia."

The voice was that of a man who sounded as if he was dying, and yet it seemed familiar to her.

"Who are you," Mia asked, her voice hoarse, as if she had not spoken in years.

"Mia, please, help me."

She let out a puff of breathe, "Please, who are you?"

"Frazier."

"Frazier, I thought… you.. I… where are you?" A mixture of panic and excitement bubbled into her voice as she tried to see anywhere around her.

"Help me." She tore off, feeling each and every step as kicked gravel up behind her, the rocks cutting into her skin. Mia didn't care, didn't even notice. There was a chance Frazier was alive, and he needed her help. She had to help him, had to save him now since she hadn't been able to do it when they were younger. With those jumbled thoughts she ran hard into something, and fell backward.

"Frazier?!" She cried, looking up at what she had hit. A pair of grey eyes met her and fear surrounded her.

"Hello Mia." A cold voice met her, and she trembled. Suddenly the area turned bright, painfully so. Everything was a fluorescent white that seemed to glow, and all she could see was the face of the man who changed her life completely. Noxx. "It's nice to see you again."

Mia went to jump away, but from the floor sprung restraints that wrapped around her wrists and ankles. As she struggled with them, Noxx knelt down and reached down for her. Tears began to roll down Mia's face.

"No, please-"

A growl silenced her, and for a moment she assumed it came from him. Instead she saw Noxx's face turn with a scowl as a winter white wolf stepped forward, its ice blue eyes stared at Mia with a soft look before turning on Noxx with a harsh glare.

"Oh, what's this? The puppy wants to play?" Noxx laughed as he stood, raising a brow as if challenging the wolf. With no more than a moment's thoughts the wolf charged at Noxx, and the sounds of flesh tearing reached Mia's ears. The metallic scent of blood filtered to her nose and she felt light headed. Closing her eyes she held her breathe. The bindings on her released themselves and instead of sitting on a hard floor she felt soft grass beneath her. Hesitantly opening her eyes she met face to face with the wolf, as it cocked his head to the side she took a moment to breath before glancing around to see herself in the woods. The wolf licked her face, before offering her a lopsided grin.

"Who….what….."She paused, struggling to find the words to say to an animal that could offer no response, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She knew that voice, but only just faintly.

Mia awoke with a start, and she glanced around to see exactly where she was. Instead of the woods, she saw she was back in her grey colored apartment in her own bed. Sitting up she took a gulp of air, and got ready to start the day.

* * *

"Sam, have you seen my keys?"

Samuel groaned slightly, waking from the nap he wasn't aware he'd been taking. Mercy's voice had cut through the peaceful time he'd been having. Although, as he sat up, he began to think it was a good thing. The couch really wasn't meant to be a comfortable sleeping spot.

"Didn't you leave them on the counter?" He offered stretching his arms high above his head.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Thanks! I'll see you later, I'm eating with Adam tonight so don't worry about making sure I have food." Mercy said as her head popped out from around the corner. A small twinge of discomfort went through him at the thought, but he just grinned.

"No problem, more for me, right?" He teased while Mercy pursed her lips, as if not believing him for a moment. She gave in, after a few moments, and rolled her eyes and walking outside.

Samuel heard the awkward roar of Mercy's car outside and got the remote, turning on the TV and flipping through channels. He began to replay the conversation he'd had with his father Saturday in his head; just like he had done Sunday many times.

"_Hey Da'? I have a question for you…" Samuel didn't even bother saying it was him. His dad had a way of knowing when one of them would call. Most of the time at least. And after all of this time Bran knew the sound of his sons' voices. When he got no response he jumped into the question._

"_Is it possible for there to be a wolf without being a wolf?" Even as he asked it, he knew it sounded confusing to his ears._

"_Such as?" Bran prompted._

"_There was a woman today. Her scent was strange; it smelled as if it were caught in between wolf and human. An equal mix." He explained, pinching the bridge of his nose. There was a good few minutes of silence before he received an answer._

"_I cannot say that I have heard of anything of the search. That does not mean that something doesn't exist. I'll look into it and see if I can find anything. If you find anything more out, let me know." _

"_Thanks, Da'." Sam hung up the phone and sighed. _

Samuel had been afraid that would be the result of the conversation. Now he had to hope he ran into the woman without making it suspicious. Somehow he thought that would be easier said than done. His phone went off and he glanced at the caller ID. He glanced at the TV and sighed, of course he would be called in just as a new episode of his soap was about to start.

* * *

"Don't let them give him any sort of drug before I get there!" Mia slammed the phone down angrily closed her eyes. Today was not a good day. She'd had one man try to cop a field within an hour of being at work, had one lady throw cuss her out for the bread being a little burnt, and now had just found out Jayden decieded to play superman from a tree, only to discover he couldn't fly and was now being taken to the hospital.

"Hey Zach, I have to go. Jayden is being taken to the hospital. I couldn't make out much from what Rosa said." Mia told a tall, scrawnly looking pale man. His hair was completely cut off, and his hazel eyes bore into her before he finally nodded.

"I hope he's okay." Zach answered, monotonously.

"Yeah, right, I'm sure." Mia muttered, making a break for the door and running towards the hospital. There were times she really wished she had a car. Times likes these when worry was about to eat her alive, and all she could do not to have a panic attack was focus on how much she hated her job or her boss. She made it to the hospital in ten minutes flat, it was about two miles away and one of those weird perks she had picked up was an increased athletic ability. The white building loomed in front of her and panic swelled in her chest. Still, she would not, under any circumstance, leave her son alone with them in there.

She took a step into the hospital, and frowned. The hairs on her arms stood at attention while everything rushed by her, movie perfect. Doctors and nurses caring about their patients, families waiting worriedly, but trusting the doctor's judgment. She knew what all these people do not, though. That all the doctors were made of were false hopes and lies. She sped over to where she saw Rosa talking to a young blonde woman at the front desk, having gone from English to arguing with the woman in Spanish. The woman seemed bored, obviously uncaring, and had no clue what Rosa was saying. Mia clenched her jaw.

"What's going on, Rosa?" Mia asked, interrupting the older woman mid sentence.

"Aye! She will not let me see him. No familia!" The Spanish woman gave the blond a heated glare.

"No one can see him right now. He's in surgery." The blond answered bored, staring at her nails idly.

"He's back through these doors?" Mia asked, taking a big whiff. She could faintly gather Jayden's scent. Rosa nodded and Mia strolled past the two double doors. The blond woman gave a gasp before jumping from her seat.

"You can't go back there!" The called.

"Watch me." Mia stormed down the hall and eventually found the room his scent ended in. Opening the door she hid back a snarl. Sure looked like he was in surgery, not. Seeing her son though, and alone, she heaved a small sigh of relief.

"Mawme?" Jayden called. Mia could see where she'd been crying, the tears had dried on his cheeks and his eyes were red and puffy. The right side of his head had just a small bit of dried blood. Mia went over to him and ruffled his head.

"That'd be me, sweetie. Now, tell me, what all has happened?" She asked, refusing to sit in any of the seats around.

"I was cwiming a twee an-" Mia shook her head.

"No, sweetie, since you've been here." She cooed softly, stroking his head.

"Nuffin'. "He swung his legs on the side of the bed. "They took me to dis woom and towd me to wait."

Mia let out a soft breath before the door opened, rather was slammed open. There stood the woman from the front desk and the man from the park, except he was wearing a doctor's uniform.

"There she is! She just stormed back here even when I told her not to and-" The man held up his hand.

"Liz, I wasn't aware family wasn't allowed back when all that was required was an arm being cast." He answered, quirking an eyebrow and looking at the woman. She opened her mouth, closed it, and shot a glare at Mia before storming out of the room. Mia went to flick her off, but being mindful of the child in the room she blew a raspberry instead. Jayden giggled.

* * *

Samuel had just gotten done dealing with an emergency case the receptionist, Liz, flagged him down in the hall. She looked flustered and panicky.

"A woman just stormed back through the doors, when I went to meet her she was gone. I'm going to need help getting her out, she seems like a pro wrestler or something!"

Sam knew Liz had a tendency to overreact but decided he should help anyways. He let her lead him down the hall and eventually end up by a room, he took the paper on the outside and looked it over. A little boy with a broken arm that needed to be put in a cast. There was small cut of his head but hadn't required stitching. As they opened the door Sam could hardly contain his grin from his luck. Inside the room was the very woman he'd needed to run into. Mia, if he remembered correctly.

"There she is! She just stormed back here when I told her not to and-" Sam held up his hand.

"Liz, I wasn't aware family wasn't allowed back when all that was required was an arm being cast." He answered, quirking an eyebrow and looking at the woman. She opened her mouth, closed it, and shot a glare at Mia before storming out of the room. He watched as Mia rose her hand, paused, and blew a raspberry. When her son laughed, Sam had to hold back his own.

"Sorry about her, she tends to overreact." Sam apologized, offering a grin to Mia. "I'd introduce myself, but we met, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did." Mia pursed her lips, "look why don't we skip over the bull where you tell me what's wrong with my son and lie to me. Let's just skip to the truth."

Sam was taken back at how violent she sounded. He was used to angry patients, but never any that anger and fear rolled off of in such heavy doses. Before he could respond Mia started up again.

"I don't want anything injected into him. To be blunt I don't trust you. You're a doctor, I never will."

"No worries, we're just going to put a cast on his arm and he'll be ready to go." Sam offered her a grin and Mia narrowed her eyes. He felt as though she was judging how well she could beat him up, which he knew for a fact he would win no problem.

"Can it be bwue?" Jayden cut in. Sam passed the grin to him.

"Sure can." He got the stuff needed and took care of it. The entire time he felt the heated glare from Mia. He tried to ignore it but it set his wolf on edge. A part of his wolf felt the need to defend its being, while the other half was upset that he had caused that unpleasant feeling. Once he was done he patted Jayden on the head.

"Well, all done. If you just go to the front desk they will charge up one cast and you wont have to worry about a hospital for a long time." He joked, but saw a flicker of an emotion cross her. The slouch in her shoulders, the downcast look in her eyes. He knew, somehow, what she was thinking. He'd seen it before with many people, those who couldn't really afford to pay. Somehow he knew she couldn't.

"Or, we could call it even and you go on a date with me." Sam gave a half grin.

Mia jerked her head up at him and stared, unsure if he was serious. She debated, heavily. If she did it she would be betraying herself and everything. It could be another trap, and she had to look out for Jayden, but on the same side if she didn't do it they wouldn't necessarily have enough to eat for the next month. She sighed in defeat.

"I'm off Saturday."

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The usual. Review please =D and go vote on the poll. I'll check it Monday and have it out.. mmm Tuesday!


	4. Date

Krilaia: This chapter should have come out way earlier. I tried writing it so many times and nothing would come. At most three sentences. It was like a lost all inspiration. I couldn't figure out what was supposed to happen. I had the beginning, I had the end, but the middle plot and mini plots were missing. Finally, they found me. At the cost of time to you all. And for that I am sorry. Anyways, I know where this should go now, and I do hope you enjoy this chapter and don't hate me for making you wait so long.

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"Samuel, they have my son. What do you not get about that? What choice do I have?" Mia ran her fingers through her hair for the fifth time in the last ten minutes.

"Look, we will find a way around it. Right now he's their only bargaining chip..." Sam glanced at the woman in front of him, eyes worn from lack of sleep, tears dried on her face, and a swollen lip from fighting. He felt his heart thud deeply.

"He's my son." She looked up at him, broken, "I have to do what they want. It's the only way to get him. Jayden.. I want Jayden safe, Sam." Her breathing shuttered and Sam couldn't help but pull her close.

"We'll get him back, Mia. If they get you they'll keep you both and study the both of you. It's a trap, the only way to make sure _both_ of you are safe is to come up with a plan. A plan they can't fight against. We can do that. Look at me," He tilted her head and looked into her eyes, "I promise that. We will get him back, and both of you will be safe."

"So with that said and done I think it's time for all of us to head to Adam's and see what his pack can do to help. They know the land better than we do." Anna said, announcing Charles and her presence. She gave them a wink, trying her best to lighten the mood with a push. She didn't know how well her omega abilities would work on Mia. Without another word the four climbed into Sam's car and drove towards Adam's house.

_96 hours earlier (4 days)_

"Really, Rosa, I can't just expect you to be able to watch Jayden on the spur of the moment because I have some date. How totally selfish of me. I'll just walk myself right back to my apartment next door and be out of your way." Mia waved and began to turn.

It had been a great plan, she had thought. Come to Rosa at the very last possible minute before her date with Samuel Cornick, the doctor. The woman would have such short notice there would be no possible way she could take Jayden. However, as Mia was on the receiving end of a pair of suspicious eyes she was suddenly very unsure of the plan.

"You think I born yesterday, Mia I have four of my own who think that. I know you better than that. I watch Jayden, you go on your date. You' too young to live life with such worries." Rosa paused in her speech to look over Mia's faded jeans and stained white shirt. "But first I see if we have anything that fit you. You muy bonita, but you hide it! Not on my watch."

Rosa took Jayden's good hand and left no room to argue as Mia helplessly followed Rosa into the apartment. There was no arguing when the woman decided something. She demanded respect, and Mia had seen the bad end of that.

Almost as soon as they were in Jayden had zoomed off to find Eric and play. Rosa looked Mia over once before nodding. "Follow me."

Mia did as she was told, and followed Rosa down a narrow hallway. She had to admire the woman. Even while taking care of so many children the house was completely neat, more so then Mia's was and she didn't own much. The pair turned into a room and Mia crossed her arms.

"What are we doing exactly?" Mia asked as Rosa shuffled through her closet, sighing before looking Mia up and down.

"You are staying here for a moment." She stated, before leaving. A few minutes later Rosa returned holding a sleeveless black dress. Passing it to Mia she shuffled her into the bathroom and shut the door, "Try it on!"

Mia sighed, not really having much choice as she slid of her jeans and T-shirt. As she shimmied herself into the dress she realize it felt _nice_ to dress in something other than a uniform or worn out blue jeans. Even if she hated why she was doing it, she enjoyed the feeling of having a reason to. As she stared in the mirror she couldn't hide the faint smile that ghosted her lips as she examined her reflection.

The dress fit well, fitting her like a glove at the top before flowing down to just above her knees. She twirled slightly, seeing the way the bottom fluttered around her. Opening the door she heard Rosa clap her hands.

"I thought so. Esmeralda and you are about the same size, though she is a little shorter. No matter." Rosa looked her down again, "What size shoe you wear?"Mia held up seven fingers and Rosa disappeared before pulling out a pair of short black heels. Quickly changing into them Rosa gave her a nod.

"Now you may go." As Rosa gave her a hug Mia closed her eyes.

"Thank you Rosa, you're like the mother I wish I had."

* * *

To admit to himself Samuel was nervous would be admitting he had feelings for this woman. To say she had feelings for this woman would seem very strange to his human half, who reasoned he barely knew her. His wolf half disagreed. To settle the inner dispute he simply chose to credit the fact he had to acquire in good spirits with a woman who hated him. Purely for the reason of finding out what she was.

Listening to metal calmed him as he took the last turn before he arrived at their designated meeting sight. Mia didn't trust him with where she lived so they agreed to meet near the park. Sam grinned, seeing her sitting on a bench fiddling with the bottom of her dress. She hadn't backed out, and that was a good enough start for him.

Parking his car he got out and walked towards her. Mia's head snapped up and he pretended not to notice the once over she gave him. Dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a white button down shirt Sam looked nice, something Mia couldn't even deny. Of course, as she stood up Sam noticed how beautiful Mia looked.

"Well, it is nice to know you didn't stand me up." Sam teased. Mia rolled her eyes tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear.

"I tried. My babysitter is just awfully reliable." She passed him a wide smile, and he shrugged off the comment good naturally.

"Well, maybe I should send her the flowers I bought you, hm?" Sam teased, and Mia furrowed her brows.

"Why would you do that. What's in it for you to do that?" Mia crossed her arms and glared at him, catching him off guard. What was in it for him?

"I wanted to. It was a gesture of peace..." Seeing that was getting him no where Sam sighed. "Look how about we try something. "

Mia said nothing as Sam turned around and walked a little down the sidewalk. A few minutes later he turned right back around and walked towards her. Stopping at her he smiled.

"Why hello. I noticed your all dressed up, and what do you know, I am too!" Mia's lips twitched slightly, "I was wondering if such a pretty lady such as yourself would like to accompany myself to get some food. I even have a gift that may make you want to!"

He moved and pulled the flowers out of his cherry red Mercedes before hanging her the roses. "I'm not a doctor tonight. Tonight I'm just Samuel Cornick, sad little Welsh boy hoping such a pretty lady would go on a date with me."

Mia couldn't help it, a smile bloomed over her face, and the smile turned into a small laugh. She defiantly didn't want to trust him, but seeing him like this made her want to. It reminded her of days before everything had changed.

"Now that that's settled, how about we get in the car and head to the place?" Sam glanced at her. Even though he had succeed in making her more comfortable, the car comment made him take two steps back. Fear radiated off of her, and it confused him.

"Can we, um, walk?" Mia asked, shifting from foot to foot. The idea of being trapped in a car alone with him, despite how trusting he seemed, was scary. That gnawing fear flooded back in and she realized in a car he could take her wherever he wanted to. Locking his car Sam put his keys in his pocket.

"Done. It's nice outside, anyways." Mia let out a breath as the two started walking. Maybe, just maybe, he could be an exception to the rule. It would take a lot more proving himself for that to happen, however.

* * *

Dinner had been awkward, at first. Eventually Sam had Mia talking, just long enough for her to look at the menu and freak out because of the cost. Being used to "eating out" as McDonald's dollar menu she couldn't handle food being that much. After a heated debated Sam had won, though, and Mia had merely sulked and found the cheapest thing she could.

"Ew." Mia scrunched up her nose, "that's gross."

Sam paused, looked down at his plate, and back at Mia.

"Are you channeling your three year old son, or did you really just 'ew' my food?" Sam quirked a brow and grinned. Mia frowned.

"Okay, point taken. But in my defense it looks like...like.. cow brains." Mia answered. Sam let out a laugh.

"That was your defense? Cow brains?"

"Hey! It's a very food defense. See this, "She poked her chicken with her fork, "It looks like chicken. That looks like cow brains."

"But good cow brains, here, try it." Sam got a small forkful and tried to let her try some. Mia scrunched up her nose and shook her head. She glanced at the fork, then him, and decieded from the look on Sam's face she wasn't going to win this battle. Taking a bite she made a face, before chewing and looking away.

"You liked it, didn't you?"

"Eat your brains." Mia muttered stabbing her chicken.

* * *

By the end of the night Mia had forgotten why she had been worried. Forgotten Sam was a doctor, and forgotten this was a debt date, not one for fun. Something about Sam just made her feel protected, and made her feel like he wouldn't hurt her, or let harm come to her. It was a nice feeling.

"It isn't safe for you to walk home alone, Mia. Please, let me either walk you or drive you." Sam stated as they drew close to his car. Mia chewed on her bottom lip before shaking her head.

"I'm a big girl who does it a lot, Sam. I'll be fine." She trusted him, but not quite that much. Red flags went off in her head. Sam sighed and looked her over. She turned in a direction and froze.

"Look, I don't feel comfortable. Streets aren't always the safest just let me, please?" Sam received no answer and he frowned. "Did you hear me? Mia, what's wrong?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, tensing slightly at the aspect of something could be wrong.

"That man, staring at us? That's my friend. He's supposed to be dead." Mia whispered.


	5. Trouble

Krilaia: So this one surprised me a little. I planned on it happening a little different, but they took it and did what they wanted. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Reviews are very much appreciated. The good and the bad, and I hope you don't hate me for what I've done.

Disclaimer: If they have a spot in any of Patricia Brigg's wonderful novels they are hers.

* * *

"When you say dead.." Sam started but Mia took off running towards the man.

"Frazier!" Mia reached him, it had been three years but she would never forget his face. Although paler, and seeming more tired and stressed than he would have ever allowed himself, this was Frazier. Her Frazier. Wrapping her arms around him she sniffled.

"Mia, I.. you..." He sighed, wrapping his arm around her in an awkward hug as Sam approached them slowly. Something about this Frazier guy smelled off, but not wolf like. More vampire like. Again Sam had trouble placing the scent.

"I thought you were dead." Mia snapped away from him, slapping the man in front of her. "You let me believe you were dead! For three years! Three years Frazier! Then somehow you find me, and expect me to just be ok?" She smacked him again.

Caught off-guard by the sudden mood change Frazier just stood there and took it. When Mia went to slap him a third time Frazier grabbed her hand.

"I did die, kind of. Look Mia I only just..." Frazier cut off, turning his gaze to Sam and then to Mia again, his glance going cold. "Do you trust him, Mia?"

Mia glanced between Sam and Frazier, before chewing on her bottom lip. She wanted to, tonight he had showed her something else, but then the underlying fear that he was using her she couldn't shake. That fear had been placed to her core three years ago, and was hard to break. "I..."

She closed her eyes, and took a breath. Whenever she felt torn she looked within her, for the second voice she knew she had. A voice that hadn't always been there. "Yes..."

Frazier nodded, before looking at Mia again. "I assume this will answer some of your questions, since you're not human entirely, either. Although, not like us..."

Mia frowned at Frazier, while Sam just nodded.

"Like us? What are you talking about, not human? " Mia took a step back from him, as Frazier let go of her arm.

"Think back, Mia. When we were seventeen. The orphanage, the doctors. We thought it was strange we all had the same sickness, remember? We felt fine, like nothing was wrong, remember?"

"Well y-yes, but..." Mia stuttered.

"But nothing. We weren't sick. We were their guinea pigs. It was a failed experiment. Well, mostly. There were six of us that survived. Six out of one hundred." Frazier took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "Three died in the fire that night. One got away, and two were left for experimentation."

"Frazier you're not making any sense! What experiment?"

"They were injecting us with supernatural blood, trying to fuse the two. Don't you see? Werewolf, fey, and vampire. They were trying to make their own, to use on their own." Frazier ran a hand through his hair and stared at her. Sam took in a breath. If humans had somehow done that, and were successful? It wouldn't be safe, and it could cause a war. Whoever this was needed to be silence, immediately. If they hadn't been already.

"That's crazy! What are you on Frazier?" Mia took a shaky breath.

"You've never felt anything different since that day? You've never noticed anything? Increased sense of smell, sight, of hearing?"

Mia said nothing, and Sam looked at her, battling it over.

"What made you say you trusted me?" He asked quietly. Mia looked at him, but said nothing. "Did it feel like another side to you, telling you it was okay? That was your wolf."

Mia stared at the two men and backed away. They had to be crazy, they just had to be. The world started spinning and her heart thudded. "But, that's not.. no. no...no..." She whimpered slightly, her breathing starting to go spastic and Sam swore under his breath.

"She's going into shock and having panic attack." Mia didn't hear anything after that as her awareness of the world faded off.

* * *

Mia groaned as she woke up. Her head was pounding in massive pain and as she opened her eyes she realized she had no idea where she was. Panic settled in her as everything flooded back. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears and she looked around the small room she was in, before spotting the door. Creeping as quietly as she could she snuck through it and into a short hallway, before hearing voices.

"So basically what you're saying is this organization has been doing experiments on kids to try and make their own league of supernatural?" It was a voice she didn't recognize.

"Not exactly. They had been, three years ago. But there was a five and all of their samples got destroyed. I don't know how they got it in the first place, but I think getting samples was a hard thing to do. So those of us who didn't die when we were infected, and survived the fire, got to be lab rats so they could figure out why we survived before trying again. So far they haven't come up with much." Frazier. But he was still talking that weird nonsense? It didn't make sense to her so she listened more from the hallway.

"Alright, but then how do we know we can trust you?" It was Sam's voice this time.

"I escaped, you think I want to be there? Do you know what it's like, living there? If you want to call that living. I want them put to an end. Mia trusts me, obviously." Frazier sounded all too smug about that comment.

"Speaking of which, I think she's awake and listening to all of this." It was a female's voice that alerted the others to the fact Mia was hiding. Like Jayden when he did something he wasn't supposed to, she sheepishly walked into the living room.

The more masculine voice belonged to a man that obvious either had military training or a very military family. His stance was a little stiff, Mia noted, and his dark hair was kept neat and tidy. He was taller than her, which everyone in the room was, but he was shorter the Sam.

The woman who had let them know she was there was tall, too. If it weren't for Mia, she would be the shortest in the room, though. Her hair was dark as were her skin and eyes. For some reason, though, Mia didn't want to put her as Native American. Something seemed off, through she couldn't place it just well.

"Mia." Sam's smile brightened when he saw her, and she tried not to notice the dirty glance Frazier shot him. "This is Mercy, and this is Adam." He introduced the two. Mercy offered her a smile and Adam nodded his head at her.

"Mmhmm." Mia clicked her tongue. "As great and amusing and whatever other words could possibly be linked to this night, I'm gonna have to say all of this babble of experiments and stuff is crazy. So I'm going to go get my son and forget this night ever happened."

"Mia, if they find out you're alive they'll come after you and your... did you say son?" Frazier froze, his face scrunching up in confusion. Mia ignored him.

"So where exactly is this so I can know how to get home?" Mia asked, smiling.

"If you're in danger Mia, you can't go out there alone." Sam walked over to her and Mia had to cross her arms.

"There isn't a way to mix supernatural and natural blood. They were just trying to cure us of a sickness..." Mia droned off.

"Why are you so bent on not believing what they did to us?" Frazier yelled, "Jeez, Mia, you were the one who sat right next to me in that hospital bed asking what was really going on. You were the one who never trusted them. Why is it so hard for you to believe?"

Mia didn't say anything, she just looked down. What she didn't want to say was that she didn't want to be anything but human. She had seen in the recent time that the werewolves had come out how unkind the world could be. She'd seen it with the fey. She tried to ignore it, but she could still see it. She could handle anything that happened to her, she'd survive it.

"Jayden doesn't deserve it."

Mercy looked at Adam, and both could tell what she meant. Adam faced the problems with his daughter just being his daughter.

"I don't know about this stuff, but the whole being a werewolf thing isn't hereditary. If it takes after the original it shouldn't be. So long as you don't announce yourself as something different, he should be able to go through life normally." Mercy spoke up. Mia glanced at Mercy and realized the girl looked familiar. As did Adam. She looked at him.

"You're one of the wolves that came out, right?" Mia said slowly, as if testing the words on her tongue. She glanced at Sam and frowned. Something hit her, like a force, that told her he wasn't human, either. "You're one, too, aren't you?"

Sam at her and nodded. Probably not how he expected to tell her, if he ever did, but he guessed that was better with their cause. Mia grew in a shaky breath.

"Look, I still really do have to go get Jayden." She glanced at the clock and winced, it was almost eleven. She hoped Rosa wouldn't kill her for this. "Then maybe we can figure out what to do with... what are we trying to do?"

"Put a stop to this. Hopefully figure out how they did it in the first place, got the samples and what not. To prevent anyone else from doing it." Sam answered.

"Well I still need to go get Jayden. Or at least tell Rosa not to stay up. She will, she has before. Can I use a phone?" Sam nodded before passing Mia his cell phone. Mia typed in the a number she knew well and pressed send. It went straight to voicemail. She frowned and tried again. "Something isn't right."

"It is late, maybe she just went to bed?" Mercy spoke up. Mia shook her head.

"Rosa is used to me having late shifts, and she's motherly towards me. She knows I walk alone at night and refuses to go to sleep until I call her and tell her I'll get Jayden in the morning, or I make it home. She's stayed up until two am for me. Something isn't right." Panic seized her, and she shook her head. "I have to go. I have to see what happened."

As she moved past Sam he followed her, and Frazier followed them both.

"I'll drive, we'll get there faster." Sam said and Mia nodded numbly. Every sense in her body was in overload.

"I'm coming with, back up if you need it." Frazier said, following the two out.

As Mia climbed into the front seat of Sam's car, nothing else mattered except making sure Jayden was okay. And if he wasn't? God help the soul that hurt him.

* * *

Mia stopped at the bottom floor of the apartment and tore of the heels, leaving them where she stood before running up the stairs. Sam and Frazier followed behind her, not because they couldn't speed past her, but because they weren't sure where they were going. As Mia reached the third floor she stopped and gasped. She smelt blood, and a lot of it. Sam and Frazier shared a look that said they smelt it, too. Mia rushed down the hallway to Rosa's door before pounding on it. No one answered. Taking a breath she opened the door, but nothing could have had her expecting the scene before her.

Rosa was lying on the floor, unmoving and bleeding. Rosa's husband was battered against a doorframe in the same condition, and Rosa's oldest daughter was tied to a chair with a vicious looking head wound. None of the other children in sight. Mia rushed to Rosa's daughter, Esmeralda, and started to unbind her while Sam checked on Rosa and her husband.

"Esmeralda, what happened?" Mia asked, trying to free the girl and keep the hysterics out of her voice. It wasn't working.

"Men came, they asked for you but _Mama_ said she didn't know nobody by that name. Then Jayden came by, and Jayden came over and they said he looked like you. They took him, _Mama y Papa.."_ She choked back a sob, as the weight of what had happened hit her and she began crying, making her words almost unmanageable. "They tried to fight them but the men, they.. "

Mia hugged the girl close, letting tears loose down her own eyes as she tried to calm her.

"Where are your brothers?" Mia asked and Esmeralda pointed to the closest. Mia walked to the closet and freed the younger boys, and Esmeralda 's twin. She hoped against hope that Jayden would be there, but he wasn't.

Sam looked over both Rosa and her husband enough to know they were both alive. Pulling out his cell phone he called the hospital he worked at. "Hey Julie, this is Sam Cornick. I'm sitting over here at the Eastwood apartments with a couple who need an ambulance asap."

After a moment of silence he said his thanks and closed the phone before surveying the scene. Things were bad, but they hadn't hurt the kids, he noticed. And from the little bit of conversation he'd heard they'd only hurt the ones that fought back. Esmeralda looked at him, and Sam offered her a weak smile.

"Your mom and da' will be okay. I'm a doctor at the hospital and they are sending someone over. They're hurt and it looks worse than it is. The bleeding has already stopped and everything. " He noticed the girl calmed at that. "How's your head?"

Before she could answer Sam was examining it, he nodded, "It's better than it looks, but you'll need to go get to the hospital, too."

"Sir, do you think they'll come back?" A teenager asked, about the age of Esmeralda. He was tall but not built and looked like he was better behind computer.

"I doubt it.. they got what they wanted. Stay here with your siblings though. We'll stay until the ambulance shows up, and I'll leave you with my number. Call if you even so much as think something is off, okay?" Sam said, already writing it down. The boy nodded.

"Thank you." He said, taking the number and pocketing it. Sam glanced around and spotted Mia, and he felt as though his heart had been torn out. Seeing her there so broken and crying he did the only thing he could think as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her the best comfort he could.


End file.
